Newbies Fish Dying

[jacko32]

its most likely ammonia nitrite and stress thats killing them just keep doing the water changes

 

[berbie38]

its most likely ammonia nitrite and stress thats killing them just keep doing the water changes

ok thanks

 

[waterdrop]

Hi berbie38 and welcome to TFF!

I always like to say it helps to try to be a detective in a fish-in cycle. You want to try and figure out what percentage and frequency of water changes will keep both ammonia and nitrite(NO2) below 0.25ppm (as measured by a good liquid-reagent test kit) until you can be home again from work or school or whatever to change water again. Zero ppm ammonia or nitrite is better than 0.25ppm but zero to 0.25 is the range you want to be in. Zero ppm on our kits still leaves plenty of ammonia for the beneficial bacteria to be developing in the filter. Perfectly running tanks have readings of zero ppm ammonia and nitrite but also have healthy populations of bacteria in the filter.

Sometimes when you lose fish during a fish-in cycle it is because of the earlier damage to their gills, nerves or brain, rather than the recent measurements. The ammonia damage is more direct, in the gill tissue. The brain/nerve damage is indirect. The nitrite(NO2) attaches to the hemoglobin protein on the fish red blood cells and causes the the entire red blood cell structure to collapse (it turns brown in the process.) This causes a lack of oxygen transport and the subsequent cell suffocation hits the nerves and brain first.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[berbie38]

Hi berbie38 and welcome to TFF!

I always like to say it helps to try to be a detective in a fish-in cycle. You want to try and figure out what percentage and frequency of water changes will keep both ammonia and nitrite(NO2) below 0.25ppm (as measured by a good liquid-reagent test kit) until you can be home again from work or school or whatever to change water again. Zero ppm ammonia or nitrite is better than 0.25ppm but zero to 0.25 is the range you want to be in. Zero ppm on our kits still leaves plenty of ammonia for the beneficial bacteria to be developing in the filter. Perfectly running tanks have readings of zero ppm ammonia and nitrite but also have healthy populations of bacteria in the filter.

Sometimes when you lose fish during a fish-in cycle it is because of the earlier damage to their gills, nerves or brain, rather than the recent measurements. The ammonia damage is more direct, in the gill tissue. The brain/nerve damage is indirect. The nitrite(NO2) attaches to the hemoglobin protein on the fish red blood cells and causes the the entire red blood cell structure to collapse (it turns brown in the process.) This causes a lack of oxygen transport and the subsequent cell suffocation hits the nerves and brain first.

~~waterdrop~~

Thanks for the advice much appreciated. I must say joining this forum has been invaluable, much better than some of the duff advice I had from the pet shop when I first bought my tank. I am really enjoying the tropical fish bug and when i get back from holiday am going to invest in a proper tank. Thanks for all of your help
best regards
Berbie

 

[waterdrop]

There is a lot to be said for bog standard (dear UK, did I say that right, lol?) rectangular tanks that are in a standard size. The flat surface does not create a lens effect that shortens or magnifies the depth of display that your tank projects. If the shape is standard it is easier to find the lights and tops and some of the other gear not only initially but on a more emergency basis if needed. Likewise, another luxury that can be considered where money is had is to have redundancies of critical equipment or parts. Some aspects of life support for pets such as these can be rather unforgiving when a problem happens at the beginning of a long holiday spell for instance, although I've also found this forum to be invaluable in providing ideas for tough situations, regardless of the needed normal equipment!

~~waterdrop~~